General Motors unveiled its 2016 Camaro and it's lighter, more fuel-efficient and more powerful than Camaros of the past, but will the sleeker version be a hit with its past enthusiasts and can it catch up to its rivals, the Ford Mustang and Dodge Challenger?
Forbes reported that the new Camaro has a new "Alpha" structure and design that makes the vehicle weigh about 200 pounds less than in the past. The magazine wrote that Camaro's move toward refinement mirrors what rival the Ford Mustang did last year.
"But there's another new-age angle as well: recasting the ponycar recipe with at least a nod toward contemporary concerns regarding fuel economy," wrote Bill Visnic of Forbes. "Although Chevrolet didn't release all the details of the 2016 Camaro's mechanicals in advance of Saturday's unveiling, it's probable that the all-new Camaro will, like the Mustang, include the option of – eek! – a four-cylinder engine under its lightweight hood."
The Detroit Free Press reported that sales of the Ford Mustang are 60 percent ahead of what they were for the vehicle last year, leaving GM eager to introduce its new Camaro with new performance promises.
"For the first time, California is the Mustang's biggest market as consumers there embrace the addition of a smaller, more efficient turbocharged engine," wrote the Free Press' Greg Gardner. "And though Dodge doesn't break out sales of its 707-horsepower Challenger Hellcat, all Challenger sales are up 41 percent over the same period. Despite the rising media chatter about self-driving cars, hands-on muscle cars are hot."
The Free Press reported that engines available for the Camaro include a 3.6-liter, 335-horsepower V6, a 2.0-liter, 275-horsepower turbocharged 4-cylinder engine, and a 6.2-liter, 455 horsepower V8. The newspaper added that the engines also could be paired with either eight-speed automatic transmission or a six-speed manual transmission.
"It's the whole shootin' match," Aaron Link, lead development engineer for GM, told the Free Press. "It will go faster, stop shorter and turn quicker. It has lower inertia everywhere."
Link told the Free Press that the fifth generation Camaro, launched in 2009 has provided the needed momentum for the new sixth generation Camaro. The newspaper reported that that 63 percent of people who purchased one since 2010 had never owned a Camaro before.